Tag Archives: Political

The Internet Tarot Weather Dude’s Alien (E.T) Invasion Forecast

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This sounded like a good idea when it was suggested to me, but, I have no idea how to implement it.  How can I pull a couple of cards or several cards and make sense of them in this context.  It’s kind of screwing with my head just a little.  Really I am spit balling here… I mean is Alien invasion even possible in the first case?  I have no real idea but I like to think of myself as an optimist and that anything is possible.  Then, of course there is probable.  Probability is largely based on expectation whether that expectation is logical, philosophical, mathematical or experiential.  In the end it is our past experiences (whether real or imagined) that shape or expectations of the future.  The view of possibilities 600 years ago are worlds different than our view of possibilities today so in the broadest sense of wide eyed credulity I guess it is possible.  None of that really matters any way as this is more of an experiment.  Just a test of creativity and problem solving so lets give it a whirl.

Date(s):  Monday June 5 through Sunday night July 2, 2017.

Deck:  Hermetic

Cards Drawn:  9 of Pentacles (disks or coins, inverse) and The Chariot (7 Major Arcana or Trumps)

Invasion Forecast:  No chance.  But with the nine of pentacles a most material plane monetary influence, or other base interests and the Chariot which stands as a vehicle for another cause expect the chatter on various websites, radio, you tube or even Television (I know, right?) to capitalize on rising east/west tensions by creating a lot more chatter on the topics of The Illuminati/NWO, Alien agenda, luciferian agenda and any other notion of foreign gods conspiracies and strange beings/Giants as a move to profit off of rising fears.  Take everything with a large grain of salt and try and have a good time.

As always, have a better than average day

The Trump Revolution?

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I hesitate to use the word Revolution under most circumstances simply because of it mechanistic implications.  For example, if you mark a single tooth of a gear, like on a bicycle, let’s say, with a bit of bright yellow paint.  The gear has made one revolution when that bright yellow mark returns to its starting position.  This is what I mean when I use the term Mechanistic Implications.  In this context, nothing really changes after a revolution other than the names of the members of the ruling class and I believe there is some truth to this when we even just glance at the Trump administration.  On the other hand re could mean revolution as in the idea of re-evolving or re-imagining or world, human society and how it behaves or functions.  What’s weird to me about this is that I can hear both points of view represented in the two sides of the Trump Debate.   For those who believe he is some kind of a Fascist you should try and keep in mind that Corporations seriously usurped state power back in the late 90s and they had been working in that direction since before the Kennedy assassination.  I know how crazy this sounds and I need to state again for the record that I am a paranoid Schizophrenic or Schizoaffective depending on what decade and which of my various doctors you ask.  I know how crazy it sounds to me too.  I’ve been watching and mostly thinking about what I’ve been seeing and I just what to try to make it clear.

The big question is how did this guy get elected?

I’d like to brag and say that I knew he would be elected before super Tuesday but I suffered an intense fit of malaise and found myself occupied and mystified by the spectacle.  It doesn’t matter as I didn’t post on this then, but what is important is that it was my wife Meta who taught me the trick years ago.  It is nothing more then  a simple analyses of the media coverage including, now, the internet.  Whose face do you see the most often, whose voice do you hear the most often, how much live coverage does a candidate get and how many times is said candidate quoted.  This was true in the eighties for  the same reason that it is today but I fear I am about to derail my train of thought.

Did the Russian’s do it?  The Russian’s could be in serious trouble with in the next year or two as they may not be able to met their pension and subsidy obligations (Caspian Report YouTube) so I am unsure how many resources they can spare.  To be as Honest as I can be I believe that it would be in Russia’s interest to have a friendly administration so I don’t think the idea is that far fetched.  But before we start ginning up Anti-Russian sentiment we might want to look closer to home.

The first place to look would be the media itself, whether internet or cable/corporate (MSM) because it surely seemed to me, remember, I’m crazy, that Donald J. Trump was being pushed by them.  I just couldn’t shake the feeling.  Why didn’t they split the coverage evenly between the Republicans (Trump) and Clinton?  The argument was that the people running the media, line producers or what ever just couldn’t resist those add dollars.  It was Trump Mania, the money was too good.  Let me get this straight, management, CEO, COO, CFO, just haven’t noticed over the past three decades that the person they cover the most wins.  Is that what passes for genius these days?  It was so fucking obvious that the Weekly World News predicted both Clinton I and Baby Bush.  Why is it that whenever anything crazy happens that the defense on behalf of the corporate perpetrators is always, we were too stupid to know any better?  It well could have been that the talking heads on the screen and the producers managing their programs just thought a Trump victory impossible.  A college education doesn’t amount to much anymore that’s for sure.

Ask yourself a question and think about it, who was the media, especially the corporate media, really scared off?

Guess?

Based on coverage and on air attitude alone, in descending order, Jill Stein firstly, then Gary Johnson and finally Bernie Sanders.

There is no doubt in my mind that the media played a major role in getting Trump elected whether they as individuals, recognize that fact or not.  That’s only part of the equation though because I had the hardest time figuring out why anybody would vote for him, much less Hillary Clinton, even though I was certain he would win.  This state of mental information and prespective was a bit mind bending but I want to try and write my way through it.

20% of voters poled stated that they felt voting for Donald Trump would by like throwing a Molotov cocktail into the government (Storm Clouds Gathering/You Tube).  I can only think of one word to describe this emotional state and that is rage. There was an element of Donald Trump’s rhetoric, especially during the run up to the convention, that seemed to be pandering to certain elements of the far right.  If you have an opportunity check out his comments about the nature and type of people that illegally immigrate from the south and compare it to the rhetoric used by certain far right groups, the Neo Nazi’s. Aryan’s.  This is definitely race language with in that stance it just doesn’t sound like the race language from the 50s, 60s or even the 80s.  Immigrants, especially illegal immigrants are an easy target, most people won’t recognize the language as loaded and racist.  Most people don’t understand Northern Speak.  The Language of Political incorrectness had layers to it and different people hear different things  This stance along with Trump’s physical antics appeared to fall with in the lines of a certain style of liberty/nationalist political rhetoric if you are a member of some of the less savory elements from the hyper far right.  That still doesn’t account for the bulk of the people who voted for him.  Outside of Immigration where the candidate in question had fairly consist views even if his understanding of the cost and methods for execution appeared sketchy at times, he took every imaginable position.  It seemed that he spoke plainly and specifically to each audience and said basically, what he thought they wanted to hear.  NERD WRITER on You tube did an excellent dissection of the level of education or reading level exhibited by Trump through the text of his speeches which, it seems, was at about a fourth grade level.  It is a mistake to think that Donald Trump is some kind of a moron.  He is a promoter, promoting real estate projects, his brand or himself, that is how he makes his living.  Another word for promoter is Salesman.  A good sales man always knows his audience and in this case his audience lacked a college education.  KISS, a phrase I heard through out my youth when trying to communicate an idea, especially in high school.  Keep It Simple Stupid so that every one can understand it.  These supporters come from what we use to call in the old days the White Working class, largely lower working class.  The 2010 Census revealed that for the first time in U.S history more people lived in Urban areas than in Rural.  51% of the population are now living in the top twenty metropolitan areas.

The neo liberal evolution left a surprisingly large number of people behind, ruined many and left the rest without hope and for three or four decades now that there is a building resentment or resignation in the population.  But even this does account for his victory.  I got the impression that Trump didn’t expect to win, he seemed surprised to me.  In the end I think people voted for him, for the most part, not because they necessarily agreed with any particular part of his rhetoric but simply because he wasn’t a politician.  He was rich too, we American’s worship rich folks, I’m sure that didn’t hurt him either.

Donald Trump is like an empty glass, any given individual sees what they want in him.  If they want to see job creation and a better life then that is what they see.  If what they want to see comes from fear then it is fascism, racism, sexism, violent repressive state violence and oppression then that is what they see.  Trump is a spokesperson, a mouth piece, a show man and a distraction, what Lionel Nation on You Tube would call a rodeo clown except nobody is calling Trump that.  Instead they label him Crazy, stupid, incapable, narcissistic authoritarian or on the other hand a genius, a nationalist, anti globalist which, some , either positive of negative, maybe true.

Between Secretary Clinton and Donald Trump there wasn’t much of a choice.  60% of voters didn’t like either candidate (Redacted Tonight/You Tube)).  The election was a real shit storm, it was extremely divisive.  In my experience it isn’t unusual for a sizable portion of the population to dislike or hate the person of the president.  I became aware of this when I listened to people older than me talking about the Kennedy Assassination.  In their experience as many people cheered as those that cried.  So the idea that the population being split is some how novel is incorrect.  From where I sit it appears that both the administration and the corporate/citizen media are trying to agitate this situation.

“People are Dangerous” Noam Chomsky

Although this may not be conspiracy it very well could be a case of collusion.  A large portion of the population fighting among themselves, especially in large easily identified groups suits anyone looking to profit.  Fear Sells.  Fear confuses.  In these states obfuscation is simple to accomplish.  Don’t underestimate this, the crack down will come only if these groups interfere with the daily activities of large businesses.  This doesn’t change the fact that the administration is standing on shaky ground.  If Trump cannot deliver on key promises to his supporters, especially the economic ones, he’s got a problem.  He managed to pull off the immigrant ban and even if this next one is contested he’ll just try again.  Taking an anti illegal immigrant stance, or anti legal immigrant stance for that matter is like shooting fish in a bucket.  It works here, it works in Europe and pretty much everywhere else.  The concept is easy, whether it is simple like different is bad or slightly more complex like, if the economy doesn’t improve their will be no work for the new grown incoming people and of course there is fear of too mach competition or favoritism, fear never loses when it comes to influencing the population.  At this point I am indifferent about the illegal/refugee/new immigrant issue an largely see it as a Red Herring.  I felt at the time that if anyone really wanted to stop illegals they would simply prosecute the businesses that employ them, I mean this in the criminal sense.  Start throwing the individuals at the top these businesses in prison and watch the illegal flow cease.

I know that this will never happen.

It also appears that The Affordable Healthcare act isn’t being repealed at all, instead they are just amending the legislation (readthebill.gop).  So they are taking an insurance subsidy wrapped in a healthcare plan and removing the healthcare plan, it seems.  I could simply be incapable of comprehending the bill and they way it is written makes understanding it clearly difficult even though it is only 28 pages long.  It appears that this could affect a large portion of people, especially the 55 to 64 demographic, negatively, but I am prepared to wait and see.  There is a real anti-war attitude developing so we shall see if Trump’s Administration can reduce our exposure in foreign lands though we already have more boots on the ground in Syria.  The question is the cause, is it something that was already underway under The Obama Administration or was it something the Trump administration decided to do?  If it appears that Donald Trump is more of the same, just another deceitful politician who lacks the will or the intention to follow through on key issues, the population that voted for him will eventually begin to loose faith, example, pocket book issues/jobs/foreign policy/healthcare, things could get a bit shaky.  I don’t know how long his supporters will be able to keep the faith but the screaming mass of anti Trump people definitely create a feeling of conflict, the in sense of War, psychologically, as long as that atmosphere holds it will energize the Trump supporters to redouble their efforts.

If the economy should take a hard downward turn or some other catalyst occur, this tense situation has the potential for a serious spat of civil unrest/violence.  The Democrats need to rethink their platform, they need issues to support that appeal to a broader spectrum of people positively if they wish to have any opportunity to mount a serious challenge to the republican’s control of Congress.  I, personally, wouldn’t expect any serious introspection or refocusing of strategy from the Democrats until 2020 at the very earliest.

We have been suckered into a game of stick the prick and the question is who’s the prick?  We shall see because interest rates, the prime lending rate specifically, are going to start to rise.  The Trump Candidacy is the perfect environment for this move.  I would not expect the first increase to be any more that 25 points, (.25%) probably less.  With his rhetoric and his administrative style (Donald Trump) and the intense volatile division in the population some one other than the Federal Reserve or even the banking system will be blamed if the economy should sputter.  I don’t think an increase in interest rates alone will seriously harm what’s left of the economy, something else significant and unexpected has to happen about the same time.

That’s when things will get interesting.

Unlike so many others I still have faith in regular people.  A series of events, another dishonest/corrupt politician, a declining economy can either produce catastrophe or a unified movement.

Maybe we all get lucky and nothing will happen at all, maybe things will even improve, what do you think the odds of that are?

Understanding Power Part II

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I tend to think of Part I as Simple power while Part II deals more with complex power.

Before I continue I wold once again like to state that I believe that every human being has the right to defend themselves.  It should be understood that some believe that a good offense is the best defense but the moment that one makes the argument for any form of preemption in the name of self defense that one should always suspect that it is, in reality, an argument for aggression.

Complex power, for the sake of thus discussion is dependent on developed societies in order to exist.  Developed societies is a polite way of saying civilized.  Civilized societies have institutionalized structures, the peculiarity of division of labor and more often than not hierarchical leadership structures.  These concepts are all part of the discipline of sociology a part of academia I sort of backed my way into in an informal sense.  The first limitation I wish to place on this form of moderate power is that it is an aspect of social systems whose reach could be the size of a county, a township, a municipality,. a state or providence, a medium sized corporation, a small religious tradition or even a small country.  The key in understanding scale is firstly realizing that these entities have little or no ability to project power much beyond the region in which they dwell.  This inability to project power and the small scale of this tier of power allows the people who both compose the organs of the system or systems as well as the individuals that cohabit with the system to know each other or at least have the possibility of knowing each other.

Television, mass media and yes, even the internet create the illusion of knowing another person but that is not the same, for the sake of this discussion, of knowing a person in the sense of sharing any given three dimensional space.  The holders of power and the rest of the population can actual be on good speaking terms, go to each others birthday parties, visit each other when they are sick and attend functions both social, educational or managerial.  This is an effort to get across the scale of these intermediate systems.  Let it be understood that just because you can or the possibility exists to share 3D space with a person doesn’t mean that you do, only the possibility must exist in a probable and realistic manner for it to qualify.

Also in the realm of intermediate power there is at least the illusion of accountability for those who hold said power’s actions.  What this means is that if a person who holds a position of power commits a crime in the codified sense then there are criminal consequences or at the very least the illusion of consequences.  This means a trial and the possibility of prison just like those of us who live around, under or work with in said system.  What is important here is that the illusion of consequences be realistic so that it could be said that on occasion some one has to pay the piper as it were.

So what are the prerequisites to hold said power?

Power can be obtained several ways,  it could be a question of status of family, by election of your peers,by accreditation and possible do to personality and appearance (Charisma).

Here are a few quick illustrations.

Family Status is usually connected to both wealth and influence.  Those two things, wealth an d influence, regardless of the nation state or region you might examine, seem universal.  The was a gentleman, who had recently passed beyond the veil, that I had become familiar with through the local historical society.  His family was long established in my community and still held some considerable capital though not as much as they had in the past.  He worked as a middle school  principal.  He was always being quoted in the paper as though his thoughts on our little community had any real relevance and he traveled to Washington D.C.  once a month for some sort of a panel at the capital.  This was mentioned as an aside and I didn’t pry.  There is no doubt that he had much experience that would have been valuable to any inquiry specifically round the topic of education.  I am also certain that most people who have been seriously involved in education for any reasonable length of time would also have ideas and experiences that would be equally valuable.  I was left wondering why the preference?

My grandfather was also a school teacher and a high school coach, basket ball, Football and base ball.  His power came from accreditation as he was the first person in the state of Ohio to earn a masters degree in education.  He also had a gift for turning some coin in the world of investing so he was something of a self made man.  He too held a great deal of sway in my small city.  He could get people, especially minors out of jail on his word alone.  He had the ear of judges, lawyers, doctors, members of law enforcement, school teachers and even people in the government at the state level.  This power was able to change someone in my locality circumstances when it came to their status with the various systems that govern the world in which I lived.  He also held elected office in my small city.

And we must not forget Doctors, They have power too. They have the power to not take you as a patient.  If you should pass from inability to receive medical care they will not be held liable in any way though they may be held liable in the case of malpractice thus the illusion of consequences.  People will talk about health care reform (Health Care affordability and Portability Act) as though it has revolutionized access to medical services.  Down here where I live and most of my friends live the system has some serious kinks to be worked out.  People are having a harder time finding the kind and quality of care that they could before the Acts passage.  I have no idea what it is like in the big cities, I can only speak of the few cases of which I am aware.  This aside, I know of three cases where a Doctor decided they weren’t going to see a patient any more.  They did not state a reason why and continued to practice in the local community.  My point of view on this may seem a bit harsh and in all honestly I don’t care whether doctors only treat people that can afford their services and the rest be damned.  I am simply using it as an illustration of power.  Meta and I have debated whether or not the Hippocratic oath is still taken when doctors finish their education.  She feels that it is not, I feel that it is but it is nothing more than smoke and it been like that for a long time.

Then there is all that chatter over law enforcement with in the realm of police brutality.  I am mixed on this but for the sake of this conversation, if a person, due to the position they hold, can cripple or kill another human being under circumstances other  than self defense then what we are seeing is an example of power.  There are occasions when charges are brought against police officers for  improper use of force which creates the realistic illusion of accountability.

I’m sure that you can come with examples better than mine.  In any case, for what ever it was worth, i hope this was worth the time you spent reading it.

Understanding Power Part I

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Before I Begin I want to say that I believe that every human being has the right to self defense.  Self Defense, in my view, does not include preemption.  You or I do not have the right to attack some one or aggressively defend ourselves against the notion of a potential threat.  This aggressive form of self defense also know as preemption isn’t really self defense.  Its aggression, its an attack, we would be going on the offensive.  We can’t just run around attacking people because we don’t like the way they look, that they make us nervous, have different beliefs or look at us funny.

None the Less I support an individual or a populations right to defend themselves by any means once they are under attack, once the lead starts flying as it were.

This is about understanding power and this first installment is about simple power.  I began this post with the statement that I believe in a person’s right to self defense because to a considerable extent simple power deals with the second amendment.  I am 51 years of age and the debate around the second amendment, gun control, has been going on as long as I can remember.  People older than me yet remember this debate as a sort of a back ground noise of their life.  First I’d like to admit that I support the second amendment.  This of course has caused me some concern as I have listened to the last round of debate on the issue of gun control.  It seems to me that the bulk of the people supporting the amendment and resisting any form of gun control make all gun control advocates look like lunatics.  There has been this phrase I have been hearing, now it may have been said in the past and often but this is the first time that I have heard it, and that phrase is “Gun Culture.”

What the Fuck does “Gun Culture” mean?  When I hear the term used, whether the speaker is a citizen of our fair country or a foreign devil, it sounds like some kind of a slam, an insult.  I really had to think on the term for a while to try and get a handle on it.  The internet as a tool for enlightenment was useless in this endeavor and there was no hard copy dictionary definition.  It was frustrating and annoying, all those grinning jar headed, glassy eyed, slack jawed idiots grinning and muttering the word “gun culture” left me with the same putrid feeling as some other pudding for brains, soft bottomed, over privileged turd using the term “White Culture.”

What were these phrases?  Where they some kind of a code, an inside joke, or the result of a group of demographers with a few carefully selected focus groups and their careful search for a phrase that would have some desired effect even though it didn’t actually mean anything?  The thing was, though it kept nagging at me something terrible, that the phrase “Gun Culture” does mean something.  We need to come to grips with the fact that if the citizenry of the United States did not possess military grade firearms in the distant past then our country would, in all likelihood, bear little resemblance to what it is today.  The destruction of the Native population, Genocide if you will, would have been impossible with out an armed citizenry.  The institution of Slavery, which went a long way to making the U.S. a rich country as only free labor can, also would have been impossible with out an armed citizenry.  I realize that these ideas may make people uncomfortable or uneasy but to say otherwise would be grossly unfair and dishonest.

The U.S. expansion into South and Central America after the Spanish American war, our participation in WW I and WW II would have been far less spectacular without a populous that was familiar with the use of fire arms.  Just imagine how quickly forces could be mobilized and fielded when the population already know how to use a gun then when they have to be trained from scratch.  Then of course there is F.D.R and the great depression.  Doctor Richard Wolf has a very interesting interpretation of Roosevelt’s New Deal policies and why they occurred.  It seems that the depression had brought our fair nation to the brink of civil war.  Back then not only where we armed we were also organized.  That’s a damn scary combination.  There were labor unions, political parties, progressives, Communists, Socialists, Antichrists and they shared members, meaning one person could be a member of more than on group union or party.  So when we retell the tale we simple talk about what a Commie FDR was because we most certainly don’t want to encourage the population of our fine nation to organize for a better life.  Maybe these kind of ideas are what is meant by the phrase “Gun Culture.”

In the past these far Left organizations use to scare the shit out of the government but decades of propaganda appealing to individual enrichment and anti union sediment have left our country with out a left wing any longer.  Now the concern is the far right, The Militia, Radical Religious Groups. and Anti Governmental organizations.  When I hear the media discuss these groups, which is rare since I don”t get cable in my home, they fix their side of the argument around the criminal threat and the threat of Terrorism if they are in favor of gun control and if they are against Gun Control them the argument revolves around protecting national sovereignty, defending our boarders (Illegal immigration) and being able to resist the government if it should get to big for its britches.  Then of course there are all the conspiracy theories around the NWO, Agenda 21, Chemtrails, death camps and the coming economic collapse and lets not forget about the Apocalypse although I am not sure what good guns will do a person if the world is ending.  At some point, when the debate turns serious it becomes simply, gun control prevents crime versus an armed citizenry prevents crime.  This is known as framing the argument.  Setting the terms of the debate so that no concept out side of the accepted spectrum of conversation can be discussed.  What is it they don’t really want to talk about?

The more I think about it the more its seems to be true.  What is it that guns represent to most people?  IN the simplest term guns, rifles or pistols represent power.  A firearm is the simplest form of power that any person can grasp.  It is power over your own life, power over other peoples lives, it is your independence and it is your ability to affect your world if you should feel the need.  We in the United States are an Nation of individuals so we lack the large organizations that other developed or Western nations have to affect change in their countries, all we have is fire arms.  It was while I sitting and thinking about this that I realized another very powerful tool we littel people have at our disposal.  That other powerful tool is the ability to say NO.  It is true that first few of us who say NO may pay with our lives.  It is also true that it is hard to say NO, especially to something or someone you care about.   Maybe it is just easier to pop a couple rounds off into a crowd.  Remember that the next time you decide to, or see footage of, somebody walking down the street with an AR 15 over their shoulder to protest for their right to bear arms.  I guess in the end its a lot easier for us to kill each other then it is to negotiate or organize or to simply say NO and stop participating.  Remember this the next time you witness a debate, whether in person or on television, as the discussion devolves into some ridiculous sensationalist piece of political theater that turns your stomach, because it should.

Those jar headed grinning idiots are trying to marginalize the whole of us because what the debate is about is power and taking away yours.  If you can’t own a fire arm legally, a weapon competitive with military hard ware, you can’t work up the courage to say NO and you refuse to organize, Well, what are you gonna do?  Where will you find your power?